The inside scoop on food in Los Angeles

Homebrew demo: This Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., learn how to make your own beer at Eagle Rock Brewery. Spruce up your brewing skills and acquire new techniques and recipes as co-owner and brewer Steve Raub demonstrates homebrewing with his very own Full Moon Bock. The cost is $10 per person and includes lunch and a pint of one of Eagle Rock Brewery's house beers. 3056 Roswell St., L.A., (323) 257-7866, eaglerockbrewery.com.

Bride-cake and apple tarts: On Nov. 12, author and Jane Austen expert Kirstin Olsen will lead a discussion on cakes and pies in the Regency era at the Los Angeles Public Library. Presented by the Culinary Historians of Southern California, Olsen will address sweet and savory pies, in addition to the "bride-cake" mentioned in "Emma," with recipes for dishes from the 1800s provided. The event begins at 10:30 a.m. and admission is free. 630 W. 5th St., L.A., (213) 228-7000, lapl.org.

Fast food, revisited: "Fast Food Nation" author Eric Schlosser visits L.A. on Nov. 17 to lecture on "Fast Food Nation Revisited: The Link Between Food Justice, Worker Justice, and Immigrant Justice" at Occidental College. The event is free and open to the public but an advance registration is requested. The lecture starts at 6 p.m. 1600 Campus Rd., L.A., (323) 259-2500, oxy.edu.